Among the state’s public colleges and universities, College of DuPage is the largest community college in the state with more than 26,000
students. The history of the College dates back to 1967 when students attended classes in office trailers and leased suburban
sites across the newly established Community College District 502.
Key Facts
- Year Opened: 1967
- FY2023 Annual Operating Budget: $182.3 million
- Equalized Assessed Valuation of Taxable Property in the Community College District (2021): $49.4 billion
- Total Budgeted Capital Outlay for FY2023: $14.9 million
- FY2022 Principal/Interest Payments equal: $27.7 million
- Workforce:
- 279 full-time faculty
- 2,124 part-time faculty
- 13 counselors/advisors
- 10 librarians
- 875 full-time/part-time staff
- 36 administrators
- Size of Glen Ellyn Campus: 273 acres
- Service Area: The College serves residents in most of DuPage County and parts of Cook and Will counties. The district includes 48 communities with a total population of more than 1 million people. The district includes 26 public high schools and 10 private high schools.
Community College Benefits
College of DuPage offers a cost-effective education, flexible scheduling to accommodate all types of students, smaller class sizes and numerous transfer opportunities with four-year universities, making it easier for students to transfer credits and continue their education.
- The College offers six Associate degrees, 76 Associate in Applied Science degrees, 82 degree programs and 177 certificate programs in career and technical areas of study.
- The student to faculty ratio is 22:1.
- With five convenient locations, courses are offered in-person, online, hybrid and in virtual classrooms.
- There are more than 65 student clubs and organizations on campus and six summer study abroad locations.
- Over 200 performances of plays, concerts and lectures are held at the McAninch Arts Center each year.
- The Chaparrals have won 42 national championships in both men's and women's sports.
- College of DuPage has recognition status through the Illinois Community College Board. Recognition is a state statutory term describing the status of a community college district in Illinois that meets academic, student support, financial, facility and reporting standards as established by the Illinois Community College Board.
- College of DuPage is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
- In addition to institutional accreditation, a number of College of DuPage career and technical programs are approved or accredited by appropriate specialized associations or agencies.
College of DuPage believes in the power of teaching and learning.
We endorse the right of each person to accessible and affordable opportunities to
learn and affirm the innate value of the pursuit of knowledge and its application
to life. Our primary commitment is to facilitate and support student success in learning.
College of DuPage is committed to excellence.
We seek quality in all that we do. To ensure quality, we are committed to continual
assessment and self-evaluation.
College of DuPage values diversity.
We seek to reflect and meet the educational needs of the residents of our large, multicultural
district. To this end, we recognize the need for freedom of expression and that facts,
arguments, and judgments should be presented, tested, debated, challenged, deliberated,
and probed for their objective truth in the marketplace of ideas. Every College individual
owes a duty to exercise his or her own individual judgment; and to permit others to
exercise that same freedom of conscience. We recognize the importance of embracing
individual differences and cultures and value the contributions made to the College
by people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We affirm our role as a catalyst
for promoting dialogue and tolerance on issues supporting the common good.
College of DuPage promotes participation in planning and decision making.
We support participatory governance and the involvement of the College community in
the development of a shared vision. We believe that all students, staff, and residents
can make meaningful contributions within a respectful environment that encourages
meaningful discourse. We strive to build an organizational climate in which freedom
of expression is defended and civility is affirmed.
COD Values Freedom of Expression.
We recognize the need for freedom of expression and that facts, arguments, and judgments
should be presented, tested, debated, challenged, deliberated and probed for their
objective truth in the marketplace of ideas.
College of DuPage will be a benefit to students and community.
The needs of our students and community are central to all we do.
Life on Campus
Whether attending classes, learning using state-of-the-art technology or engaging in campus life, students develop friendships and expand their opportunities for the future.
The rigor of the courses at COD prepared me to succeed academically once I transferred.
Josie Suter, Engineering